Email Scheme of Work

Before you begin this scheme of work, you will obviously need to have set up a link with another school, so that you can email each other.

Objectives

• The children will learn how to send and receive messages via email.

• They will also learn about different methods of communicating over large distances, and have opportunities to compare the benefits of each method.

• Children will also have the opportunity to develop their reading and writing, and to collaborate with children from different schools.

• Some children who progress further may also learn how to send attachments in their emails.

Teaching Activities

1. Discuss with the children how messages can be sent over long distances (including past and present methods of communication). Compare these methods and ask the children to think of advantages and disadvantages of each method. Explain that they are going to use email to send messages to another school.

2. Ask your link school to send you a number of simple email messages. Show the children how your email program works, including how to look through the mailbox / Inbox, how to read the messages and how to reply. Ask the children to open a message, read it and reply to it (thinking about the writing conventions of letters, including the importance of correct spelling, punctuation and grammar).

3. Ask your link school to send your class some emails containing first drafts of short pieces of writing. Ask the children to open these messages, show them how they can be printed, and ask then ask your class to print their messages (encourage the children to think about the advantages of printing their messages). Explain that these messages are first drafts of pieces of writing. The children should annotate and redraft the text, and send back their redrafted versions by email (explaining what changes they have made, and why).

4. Create an address book which has the names and email addresses of a number of different people in. Explain what the address book is for and how it works. Demonstrate how to send an email, by choosing the recipient from the address book.

5. Show the children how to send attachments (in the form of pictures or text) with emails. Ask the children to attach a piece of work that they have done, and to ask their cyber friend to send their comments on it.